Lubricating apparatus



N, M. AYCOCK LUBRICATING APPARATUS Feb.' 12, 19 5.

s Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 18, 1931 FIGJ.

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WNVENTOR- BY Q7 Feb. 12, 1935. N M. AYCQCK 1,991,341

LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 18, 1931 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR- --f aw/fl w? ATTORNEY- Feb. 12, 1935. M, AYCOCK 1,991,341

' LUBRI'CATING APPARATUS Filed De c. -18, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 12, 1 935 LUBRICATING APPARATUS Nathaniel M. Aycock, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to The Texas Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 18, 1931, Serial No. 581,793

4 Claims. (Cl. 184-6) My invention relates generally tolubricating apparatus and more particularly to what are commonly known as grease guns for supplying lubricants to bearings under pressure.

The invention has particular reference to grease guns of the type described in U. S. Patent No. 1,720,398, granted July 9, 1929, on an application filed by William Harrigan for Improvements in lubricating apparatus. That patent describes a grease gun having a vertically disposed cylinder which is divided intermediate its ends by a removable plate or partition constituting the base of the storage section of the cylinder, the lubricant being supplied to the storage section from time to time as required. The removable plate or partition likewise serves to support the pumping mechanism which is enclosed within the lower portion of the cylinder. Inasmuch as the lubricant storage receptacle is an integral part of the apparatus, it is necessary to manually fill the lubricant container, and experience has proved this to be a tedious and time wasting task, particularly when extremely heavy grease is used.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a lubricating apparatus or grease gun of the type described in the aforesaid Harrigan patent, but so constructed and arranged that the pumping mechanism is independent of the lubricant storage receptacle which may, if desired, be a cylindrical container which can be packed at the plant or refinery and merely placed in position upon the pumping mechanism without any manual transfer of grease from the shipping 35 container to the dispensing apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in combination with a dispensing apparatus, a shipping container for the lubricant to be dispensed in which the bottom of the container is so constructed as to form a tight seal during shipment, but is free to move through the body of the container when the container is properly positioned upon the dispensing apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shipping container for use in connection with my improved dispensing apparatus in which a removable closure is provided for the open end of the container, the closure being so constructed 50 as to effectively protect the peripheral edge of the container against damage so that it will fit tightly upon the dispensing apparatus.

A Still further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of lubricating the main pump shaft of my improved dispensing apapparatus or grease gun embodying my inven- -its extension 46 are secured to the transmission paratus whereby lubricant is supplied to the shaft and its bearings under high pressure, and any excess of lubricant supplied to the bearings is returned to the lubricant pumping chamber.

Other objects, features and advantages will I 5 appear as the description thereof progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a lubricating 10 tion.

Fig. 2 is a planv view of the grease gun shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4. 15

Fig. 4 is a plan view in partial section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, with the exception that the scraper blade is shown at a different angle from that in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section of the improved lubricant receptacle employed in conjunction with my improved dispensing apparatus, and shows in detail the arrangement of the removable closure and the slidable bottom.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that 26 a transmission gear housing 10 is mounted upon forward and rear wheels 12 and 14, respectively, whereby the apparatus can be readily conveyed from place to place as desired. The forward wheels 12 are mounted upon a pivoted axle 16 to which a handle 18 is attached.

A vertical motor 11 is mounted upon the housing 10 with its rotor shaft 20 extending downwardly within the housing 10. A pinion 22 is. secured on the shaft 20 and engages a spur gear 24 which is mounted on a shaft 26 and has formed integral with it a pinion 28 which engages a main pump gear 30 mounted on a rotatable shaft 32.

Shaft 32 is mounted in lower bearing members 34 and 36, the adjacent ends of the two bearing members being spaced slightly apart to provide an annular space 38 around the shaft 32. An upper bearing member 40 is provided at the upper end of shaft 32.

The transmission gear housing 10 is surmounted by agear pump case 44 which is formed with an extension 46 which constitutes a can supporting member. The gear pump case 44 and 50 gear case 10 by means of suitable bolts 48.

A spur gear 50 is built integral with shaft 32 and is positioned within a gear pump housing 53 which is formed with a suction orifice 41, and an idler gear 52 is rotatably mounted upon a fixed l6 shaft 54 and is also positioned within housing 53, the teeth of the idler gear 52 being arranged in close engagement with the teeth of the driven spur gear 50, and a large portion of the periphery of each of the gears being closely adjacent the wall of the housing 53. Housing 53 is held in position within casing 44 by means of suitable bolts 57 which secure the housing firmly to an upper casting 45 which rests within an annular recess 47, formed in the inner wall of gear pump case 44. The casting 45 is formed to provide a hole or opening 43 through which grease is forced in a manner presently to be described.

A forwardly inclined blade or scraper 56 is secured to the upper end of shaft 32, which extends through the top of the chambered member 53, and the upper casting 45, and is adapted to sweep across the exposed surface of the grease in an inverted can or container 58 which is positioned upon the apparatus in a manner presently to be described.

The can supporting ring 46 has its upper end chamfered as at 60 around its inner peripheral edge to permit the easy entry of a can of lubricant such as the can 58. At a point below the upper end of the ring 46 an inner annular shoulder 62 is provided to hold the edge of the can 58. The shoulder 62 is so formed as to provide between it and the inner wall of the extension 46 of casing 44 a downwardly tapering feather bottomed.

groove 61 adapted to receive and hold the edge of the upper end of the inverted can 58' in sealed engagement so as toprevent ingress of air and permit a vacuum to be formed or created in the space between the contents of the can 58 and the pump.

The can 58 is formed at its bottom with an inwardly projecting annular lip 64 which is adapted to accommodate between it and the side wall of the can an annular flange 66 formed on the bottom 68 of the can. During shipment the bottom 68 is held in position by the weight of the contents of the can and a tight seal is eifected between the lip 64 and the flange 66 which prevents the escape of any of the lubricant therein contained. When the can is placed in inverted position and ready for operation in connection with the pumping mechanism, as shown in Fig. 3, the bottom 68 is free to slide within the can 58 and moves in a downwardly direction as the lubricant is removed from the can until all of the lubricant has been extracted by the vacuum created by the displacement of the pump.

The main pump shaft 32 is drilled longitudinally throughout a portion of its length to provide a conduit '70, and a lateral hole '72 is drilled at the root of and between two of the teeth of the main pump gear 50 so as to connect with the longitudinal hole 70 in the main pump shaft 32. Additional lateral holes '74 are drilled at 180 from the hole 72. These holes are placed at the center of the two main pump bearings so that during rotation of the pump, lubricant that is being pumped is trapped between the gear teeth at the root of which hole 72 is situated, and as the idler gear tooth engages between these two teeth, the trapped lubricant is forced out at high pressure into the longitudinal hole in the main shaft and from there out through the twolateral holes to the main pump bearings.

Any excess of lubricant that is forced out of the upper bearing 40 goes into the gear pump case 44 andthe grease that is forced out of the bottom bearing 34 enters the annular space 38 between bearings 34 and 36 and from there it is drawn through a duct '76 and hole '77 back into gear pump case 44 by the vacuum created therein by the action of the pump displacement. In this manner the excess grease is prevented from entering the transmission gear housing and the product is reused.

As shown in Fig. 4, a lubricant discharge pipe or conduit '78 is in open communication at one end with gear pump housing 53. The pipe extends through the wall of the gear pump case 44 and through a swivel connection '79 connects with a flexible hose 80 which is equipped with suitable connections for supplying the lubricant discharged through the hose to the bearing to be lubricated. The gear pump housing 53 is formed to provide an annular recess 82 which is machined to receive a by-pass valve 83 for controlling the delivery pressure of the pump, so that when, for any reason, grease is not discharged from the hose, it can return directly to the gear pump case 44 without imposing any excess pressure on the flexible hose.

, A removable closure member 88 is provided for the top of the can 58. The top is formed with a flange 90 bent downwardly on its periphery. An annular depression 92 is formed to extend within the can 58 and in combination with flange 90, forms a reinforced protective housing for the exposed edge of the can 58 to prevent damage to the edge in shipment.

The apparatus is suitably wired to provide connection with a source of electrical energy for operating the electric motor 11 and in the apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 1, a socket 84 is provided on the forward end of the apparatus and this socket is wired through a cable 86 to the motor.

- The operation of the apparatus is as follows: A grease can preferably of the particular type referred to herein, and which has been filled with grease, is placed in an inverted position upon the annular shoulder 62 with the free edge of the can fitting tightly within the feather bottom groove 61 and forming an air-tight seal at the point of contact. The motor is then started and the rotation of the rotor shaft 20 with the pinion 22 mounted thereon, produces a rotary motion of the spur gear 24 and the integral pinion 28. As previously explained, pinion 28 engages the main pump gear 30 and the rotation of the former produces a similar movement of the latter. Shaft 32 on which the gear 30 is mounted rotates with the gear and produces a corresponding movement of the spur gear 50. This gear in turn meshes with the idler gear 52 so that these two gears rotate together but in opposite directions within the gear housing 53.

The scraper or blade 56 which is mounted on the upper end of shaft 32 rotates in an anticlockwise direction .and the forward portion of the blade which is provided with a tapered cutting edge, cuts or scrapes grease from the exposed surface of the body of grease contained within the can 58. As the grease is scraped or cut from the exposed surface, it is forced by the forwardly inclined portion of the blade 56 through the opening 43 in the upper casting 45 and through the suction orifice 41 into the gear pump housing 53. In the housing the grease is picked up by the teeth of the driven and idler gears 50 and 52, respectively, and is carried in the recesses formed between the teeth and the inner wall of the gear pump housing 53 until finally forced under pressure through the discharge opening 78 to the hose 80. In case the hose is closed as by a valve (not shown) or by reason of some obstruction, the grease is automatically returned to the gear pump case through the by-pass valve 83.

Lubrication of the rotatable shaft 32 is secured at all times and under the full operating pressure of the pump by reason of the fact that grease is forced through the lateral hole 72 in the gear 50 to the longitudinal hole 70 through which the grease passes upwardly and downwardly and finally out through the lateral holes 74 to the bearings 34 and 40. Any excess of grease between the shaft 32 and the upper bearing 40 passes directly into the space within the extension 46 of gear pump chamber 44, while any excess of grease between the shaft 32 and the lower bearing 34 is discharged into the annular space 38 from which it is drawn through the duct '16 and hole 77 into the gear pump chamber 44 from which it is again delivered to the gear pump housing for reuse.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the invention, as hereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In grease dispensing apparatus, a cylindrical housing adapted to enclose a grease pump, an annular shoulder disposed on the inner wall of said housing below the upper end thereof and formed to provide between it and the housing wall a downwardly tapering feather bottomed groove adapted to receive and hold above the grease pump the edge of an inverted grease container in sealed engagement to prevent ingress of air.

2. In grease dispensing apparatus, a rotatable shaft formed with a longitudinal bore extending throughout a portion of its length and a plurality of lateral holes connecting with the longitudinal bore, bearings for said shaft, a toothed gear mounted on said shaft and formed with a lateral hole extending from between two of the teeth and connecting with one of the lateral holes in the shaft, a second gear adapted-to mesh with the first named gear, and means for rotating the shaft to rotate the gears and force any grease trapped in the space between the teeth of the gear at the root of which the lateral hole is located through the hole and thence to the bore of the shaft and outwardly through the lateral holes to lubricate the bearings.

3. In grease dispensing apparatus, a rotatable shaft formed with a longitudinal conduit extending throughout a portion of its length, spaced lateral holes connecting with the conduit near the opposite ends thereof, and a single lateral hole disposed at 180 from the spaced holes and connecting with the conduit, bearings for the shaft, a toothed gear on the shaft formed with a hole extending laterally from the recess between two of the teeth and connecting with the single lateral hole in the shaft, a second toothed gear adapted to mesh with the first named gear, and means for operating the shaft to rotate the gears and force grease through the lateral hole in the first named gear to the conduit and thence outwardly through the spaced lateral holes to lubricate the bearings.

4. In grease dispensing apparatus, the combination with a readily removable inverted grease.

container, of a casing adapted to support the container in inverted position, an annular shoulder on said casing providing a tapering feather bottomed groove adapted to hold the edge of the inverted container in sealed engagement, a pump having an inlet for grease from the container and an outlet through which grease is discharged under pressure, disposed within the casing below the grease container, a rotatable shaft adapted to operate the pump, a bearing for the shaft, means for forcing grease from the pump to lubricate the bearing, and a conduit extending from the bearing to the casing for returning to the casing for reuse any excess of grease delivered to the bearing.

NATHANIEL M. AYCOCK. 

